One Shot Wonders
by NachoMama37
Summary: A new home for one shot stories involving any or all of our charming RWBY characters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Oh, yea, sure muse. I should be sleeping but lets write. Okay..

She had been oddly quiet today, a fact which had Jaune quite worried. Ren and Nora were feeling the same way Jaune knew them well enough to see the signs. The three of them had taken turns all day trying to bring Ruby out of her mood with varying levels of temporary success. Team Ranger had been travelling for just under three months now the last two days being some of the quietest they'd had. They all pretty much knew the reason, they had crossed paths with a deathstalker. It was during the course of the battle Jaune's brain had gone into autopilot. He had yelled for Ruby to lookout only he had called Pyrrha's name instead. The four of them all flinched but there hadn't been time to process the slipup with a giant death bug on the attack.

There was something that three former members of Team Juniper knew about their new leader. She almost always had to hold herself back in combat. Ozpin had not been kidding when he described Crescent Rose as one of the worlds most dangerous weapons. The scythe paired with her speed one misstep could cause injury or death to her companions. The startling discrepancy between her tiny size and her strength had been something they admired about her at Beacon. Traveling with her in the wilds, their respect for her control and situational awareness grew by the day. They weren't prepared for how humbled they'd be when Ruby's eyes darkened, her stance and posture shifted, Nora would swear she had seen the tiny reapers eyes nearly shine with well, magic was about the closest thing she could call it.

The scorpion grimm didn't know what hit it. The fact that they, as a team had partially worn the thing down did nothing to stop them from being awed, impressed and, honestly a little bit frightened. In a blur of petals the beast was cleanly sliced in half. They had seen her basically one shot the nevermore on initiation day, the help from her soon to be team was arguably negligible from their standpoint, so they honestly shouldn't have been surprised. The sudden shift in her was something that impressed and worried Jaune. The way she fought, he'd honestly only ever seen in videos of professional huntsmen and huntresses yet she rarely fought at full capacity. She held back for the benefit of those around her, his already fragile ego bruised, another reminder of how far behind he was.

That wasn't the issue right now, he knew that even with it being accidental, his calling out Pyrrha had wounded Ruby. On calm quiet nights she would sometimes work up the courage to try an talk about the fall of Beacon. She would always stop short once she mentions Cinder it was all over, she would apologize over an over. The three of them always reassured her it wasn't her fault, Ruby and Jaune had even had a bit of a "lovers spat" as Nora had felt the need to call it over the way she blamed herself and how Jaune blamed himself. Their argument was exactly the same, each telling the other t hf at there was nothing anyone could have done differently so stop carrying the blame for something out of your control. Nora would have laughed at the irony of the twos argument ha the subject been different.

The two really tended to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. She admired them both for it, their strength and selflessness. She also found it to be a trait she almost wished neither had. They should share their worries with their team instead of getting bogged down in self blame. It was with all of this in mind that Nora fnot being able to take the awkward silence around the camp snapped. The redhead clapped her hands together once, loudly, ensuring she had every one's attention.

"Ruby Rose, out with whatever it is that's on your mind, now young lady!" Nora demanded with all the grace and charm of a drill instructor. The way she stood with on e hand on her hip and the other pointing added to the effect. Ren scolded her, Jaune stared at her mouth agape and Ruby blinked at her owlishly for several seconds. "It'll help, I promise." The redhead softened her tone and offered a small gentle smile.

The tiny reaper sighed looking down at her hands, it took several long seconds for her to organize her thoughts. "I'm sorry about the way I acted with the deathstalker." She begins, hands now fiddling with the corner of her cape.

"I don't understand.. you were amazing!" Jaune is so very confused.

Nora looked to Ren having uncharacteristically been rendered speechless. She found no help in the ninja, he was just as confused, he does finally think of a question to hopefully gain clarification. "We.. were definitely thinking something else was bothering you, care to explain?"

"Um, well.. when Jaune accidentally called out for Pyrrha.. I kinda panicked, the thing was really close to overtaking us… I forgot my training and went all out on it. I was lucky this time and didn't hurt any one. I've been mad at myself ever since." She laughs a bit rubbing the back of her head. "Uncle Qrow confiscated my baby for two weeks when I did that back at signal." The caw of a blackbird nearby seems to oddly sound like it was chiming in. "Sorry I worried everyone."

"I'm sorry, about.. you know?" Jaune bumbles, not sure how he really wants to phrase things.

Ruby waves her hand dismissively. "Pfft, don't be, you wanna know how many times I accidentally called dad Yang when he was scolding me? I think I've even called Qrow dad.. at school, during training.. didn't live it down for a month!" The blackbird caws again. "In battle our mouths and brains don't always sync up." She points to her head for emphasis.

"You called your uncle, dad?" Nora asks incredulously.

Ruby shrugs "Yea, and I swear within hours the entire school was too.. I think even the headmaster called him dad for a week." She smirks at the memory.

"Let us know when something, anything is bothering you okay? We're a team, a family, it's what we're here for." The knight smiles at her, she nods smiling back, Ren and Nora smile in agreement. The moment is sweet and sentimental.

"Plus, next time we don't want to wonder for two days if you're mad at Jaune!" The redhead announces. Jaune's "HEY" and Ren's "NORA" are all but drowned out by Ruby's laughter.

A/N: I have a partial chapter for Unexpected Arrivals done, a good idea what the next chapter of The Knight and The Griffon will be, but nooo says the muse. Write a. silly one shot before bed, she says. Heh, oh well, this will now be my one shot stories home, unless they are something special. On that note, gnight folks.


	2. Chapter 2: Prodigy

A/N: Here we are again muse..

Pyrrha had always found it hard to make true friends. That's not to say that she didn't have people around her all of the time, she constantly had acquaintances around her nearly nonstop at Sanctum. These people, these "friends" only ever wanted to be around her because of who she is. It was incredibly frustrating it was also one of the reasons she applied to Beacon, hoping that perhaps there she might be far enough away from her fame. Her hopes were temporarily dashed when the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company came running up praising her name hoping to be partners based only on who she was. It was then that a handsome blonde goofball and a quirky little silver eyed girl gave her hope.

Jaune seemed to know of her he just didn't seem to care if she was a celebrity. Ruby genuinely didn't know of her fame, and even when the tiny girl was told, then shown some of her work, her response was "So, she's still just Pyrrha." With a small shrug. Then there were Ren and Nora, bless their souls, the two of them were like Ruby they didn't know of her from TV or magazines. They had gotten to know the person first making the celebrity inconsequential. It was refreshing, for the first time in her life she began to feel like she had honest to goodness friends. She even had a few auxiliary friends in Yang, Blake, and even Weiss, her initial impression of the white haired girl seemed to be mostly wrong, she was glad to have misunderstood her.

She had expected to grow close with her own team, the kinship JNPR and RWBY shared was an unexpected surprise and an added bonus. The thing that surprised the insensible girl the most was how alike Ruby and she were. Ruby was a prodigy in both combat and weaponry, in battle her mind was second only to Jaune's when it came to strategizing. To say Pyrrha was shocked to learn the tiny reaper was two years her junior would have been an understatement. Ruby was frequently requested for sparring matches by those in the know. She would never say it out loud, but Ruby really, genuinely sucked at hand to hand combat. The redhead almost admired the way Ruby didn't even seem to care that she couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag without her weapon.

Speaking of her weapon.. holy mother of all things good was that some weapon! Scythes, in and of themselves being a rarity as a weapon due to their unwieldy nature and their habit of maiming their handlers as well as their prey.. it was also a gun.. not just any gun a fully customizable high impact sniper rifle. You could have picked Pyrrha's chin off of the ground when she found out Ruby had not only designed but engineered it by herself. Yang had beamed proclaiming "My little sister is a prodigy!" Pyrrha hated that word and didn't miss the small growl from Ruby when it was said. She understood the feeling well. These are some of the thoughts running through her head as she studies with Ruby in the library. Jaune and Yang were supposed to be there as well.

Yang being Yang didn't even bother with making an excuse to bail. The brawler said she had a night club to destroy. Ruby telling her sister to please not burn it down this time left Pyrrha confused. "That wasn't a joke?" She had asked Ruby. The serious way the silver eyed girl had answered "Oh, no, she totally destroyed a night club the night I chased Torchwick out of ol man shopkeep's dust store." Ruby's nonchalant delivery and explanation of the two events had the redhead a bit worried. Jaune had been acting weird the last few days, sneaking off, neglecting his studies and training and generally avoiding his team. Helping Ruby grasp the pythagorean theorem was truthfully a welcome distraction, though the redhead could tell her explanation was falling short. Ruby, bless her soul was trying so hard to get it, the younger girls frustration at her own lack of understanding was a familiar feeling for Pyrrha.

"Guhh, when am I ever going to use math as a huntress!" Ruby whines slumping back in her chair.

"Well, maybe when you need to repair your weapon?" The redhead thinks fast, hoping relating the subject to one of the younger girls passions would spark her interest. Her ploy sort of works and after another half an hour or so Ruby has at least a working idea of the math formula. Their studies done Pyrrha's stomach growls, it catches Ruby's attention and in turn her stomach grumbles.

"I guess we worked past dinner time." Pyrrha sounds a bit sheepish.

"The cafeteria is already closed too." Ruby sighs after checking the time on her scroll.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha says, almost automatically.

"What for? Happens all the time! We'll just have to get dinner off campus!" Ruby nearly cheers. "C'mon, I know a great little bakery!" Ruby grabs the older girls hand without waiting on a response dragging her along. Pyrrha finds she is actually having trouble keeping up with the smaller girl as she's being dragged unceremoniously down the walkways. That girl was tiny, she was surprisingly strong, her speed was a given of course. Pyrrha found, that despite her stumbling she had a huge grin on her face. A memory of watching two of her friends in grade school in much the same situation crosses her mind. She had secretly wished she had a friend that would literally drag her with them at the time. Her prodigy status was well known even in her earliest memories, she was often left out of the fun out of jealousy or spite. She recalls being so lonely back then, but now she had friends, the real kind, the kind that didn't care about her fame.

The two girls were settled into a booth talking an eating ne of the best sandwiches Pyrrha had ever had, honestly. The bakery was a cozy little out of the way mom and pop shop. Pyrrha couldn't help but think Ruby had only discovered this place due to it being next to her favorite weapons shop. Pyrrha had opened up about her concern for Jaune's odd behavior as of late. She was actually beginning to wonder if her fearless leader was even going to show up for their field trip to Forever Fall in a few days. Ruby promises to talk to the blonde dork next time she sees him, she swears it won't seem obvious.

The door to the little bakery jingles and Ruby's eyes light up. The young man walking in was in the same class as her at Signal. Ruby calls out to the boy, smiling an waving. He scoffs at the silver eyed girl and glares grumbling under his breath. Ruby sighs, she's crestfallen, the boy had never been anything other than an aquantice and he ha never been one to appreciate her raw talents either. He was often vocal with his accusations that Ruby was getting special treatment because of her uncle and father both working at their school. It didn't matter to him that she consistently scored highest in armed combat and weapons, or that she was the first one in class to unlock her semblance. Yang ha caught the tail end of one of the boy's rants one day and nearly put him through a wall. He had been cordial, nearly friendly since then. Ruby sighs again.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asks, concern in her voice and on her face.

"Yep." Ruby chirps, trying to ignore the glare from across the room. "So, um, about Jaune…"

Pyrrha is about to chide the younger girl for hiding her emotions, not that she's one to talk, especially when it came to a certain blue eyed idiot. She's interrupted when the boy calls out. He had heard of Ruby's partnership with Weiss, a Schnee heiress, and here she was sitting at a café eating dinner with an outright celebrity. Pyrrha prickled at the barb, but ever in control managed to keep her face neutral. Ruby however wore her heart on her sleeve, though the speed at which her face was conveying her thoughts was a bit mind boggling. Another barb from the boy flew across the café, he accuses Ruby of thinking she's better than everyone else, his finishing blow he declares that the tiny girl never earned all the praise an opportunities she was given, chalking it all up to her connections. He sits a smug satisfied smirk on his face. Pyrrha is surprised to see Ruby's expression is mostly neutral, she had looked away to shoot a glare at the boy. "C'mon Pyrrha, if we don't get going we won't make curfew. I don't want to go to detention…again." The redhead arches an eyebrow., the two actively ignoring the boy. "Again?" She wonders out loud. The two girls cleaning up their table.

Ruby laughs a bit nervously. "I mean.. It was technically Blake's fault.. she forgot to clean up her book stack in the library.. Cardin was so mad!" Ruby laughs, purposely ignoring her former classmate, failing at not making it obvious .

Pyrrha snickers, covering her mouth with her hand. "He had a dent in his forehead for a week." She muses. The two leave the bakery, the boy huffs not getting the reaction he wanted out of Ruby, but he doesn't follow them out. The girls have walked a few blocks away from the bakery, Ruby has been uncharacteristically quiet, it makes Pyrrha uncomfortable for reasons he can't quite place. "Was that a common occurrence at Signal?" She speaks up breaking the awkward silence. She'd been on the receiving end of taunts like that more times than she cared to count.

Ruby surprises Pyrrha by fully letting her guard down, it's surprising because she had never had a clue the tiny reaper was actually so careful in the face she showed the world. Ruby sighs allowing her shoulders to sag and the seemingly ever present smile drop from her face. "Yea, he had a group of friends. Dad said they were just jealous of my natural skill, but I dunno, it seems like more than that. I know that not everyone will like me, but it was exhausting to deal with it every day. I miss Signal, but I'm also glad to be away.. that doesn't make sense does it?"

Pyrrha half chuckles, catching Ruby off guard. "No, I understand exactly what you mean." she really does understand. Like flipping a light switch Ruby is talking her ear off again. They have a lot in common, Pyrrha hadn't realized how badly she had needed a friend that shared the title prodigy with her. It was comforting to finally be able to talk to someone who just got it. The redhead finds that this revelation causes her to open up more than she had been able to in years. The two talk for over an hour after arriving back at Beacon. They are about to part ways, standing across the hall from each other, hands on their respective dorm room doorknobs when Ruby has a thought.

"Hey, Pyrrha, will you help me study again tomorrow?" She pleads puppy dog eyes already engaged.

"That sounds lovely!" Pyrrha smiles, looking forward to tomorrow.

A/N: I've been writing this for like a week, I would get a paragraph in and get instantly sleepy. Then again I worked 22 hours in two days, so there's that, I guess. I have like a fifth of a chapter for The Knight and the Griffon done, though what I wrote feels more like a middle of the chapter, so I gotta figure that out. Yang and Blake are still refusing to talk with the muse for their Arc in Following Our Way. I have like a tenth of a chapter done for Unexpected Arrivals, the muse is kinda being stubborn and wants to throw in a subplot that I frankly would probably rush and mess up. This week work wise promises to be exhausting, I have mostly 10 hour days, so I expect to have a mind o mush come Saturday.


	3. For Beacon

A/N: We have had a two day reprieve from tornadoes and sirens. I'm still so tired, but the muse? She's still coming up with ideas and insisting I write them. Side note, Detective Pikachu is amazing, highly recommend. I'm gonna play with timelines a bit.

They were on their first away mission since transferring to Shade. Teams Coffey and Cardinal had been allowed to stick together, they were grateful for that. The constant barrage of condolences and sympathetic looks from other students and teachers was lessening, thankfully. Still it was gr and at to get away from all of that and focus on honing their skills as huntresses and huntsmen. The two teams ha been assigned to a rather remote village. They would be shadowing pro huntsman for the first week and then allowed access to low level jobs to work on their own. The week of shadowing was finished yesterday. They arrived in the new village just hours ago to start their week of huntsmen work. Their temporary mentor mentioning in passing that he was surprised the team working for the mayor wasn't part of their schools. The statement made them raise an eyebrow or two, but the odd observation was quickly forgotten.

The two teams were currently gathered around one of the towns mission boards at the edge of the settlement debating on the scarce few jobs open to them. Cardin doing his best to make sure the workload was divided up equally. The fall of Beacon had changed everyone present, but the change was quite pronounced in Cardin, he had been humbled and was proving to be quite a steadfast friend for Team Coffey. It took a while but just as the two teams were satisfied with their job for the day a sound not unlike an explosion rocked the ground. A flash of red rockets by them crashing into a nearby tree with an oomph. An explosion of rose petals were all that was left as the red blur sped back in the direction it came from. The eight of them looking between each other and the direction the swirl of red came from.

"It couldn't be, could it?" Velvet questions.

"Who else could it be?" Cardin answers, still in shock.

The sound of dust rounds going off in the distance draws their attention. "Them or not, it sounds like someone is in a fight." Coco smirks, twirling her briefcase. "Let's go kick some ass, Beacon style." She lowers her sunglasses winking and taking off towards the sounds of the clash. Yatsuhashi, Velvet and Fox following immediately.

Team Cardinal trailing behind, ready to lend a hand as well. They all stop at the edge of a clearing and their jaws drop again. They don't find Team RWBY as they had expected, rather they find Ruby and the survivors of Juniper. That's surprising enough on its own, the fact that they are fighting a petras gigas, and from the looks of things winning, was quite a wake up call for Team Cardinal. They watched as Nora knocked one of the things arms off. When it took a tree for it's new arm Yats had to hold back both groups. Cardin wanted to argue, wanted to rush in, he was working very hard to be a team player. Team CFVY were technically in charge of him and his team, so if Yats said wait, they would wait. A quick brainstorming session with Jaune and a flashy combo from Nora and Ruby found the whole event wrapped up in another few minutes.

"Woo hoo! Way to go!" Coco cheers grabbing Rangers attention. The four are confused for several seconds until they find the source of the cheering. They jog to meet up with the two waiting teams.

"Hi Coco! It's really great to see you all! What are you guys doing all the way out here?" Ruby asks as Jaune, Nora and Ren join in on greetings and small talk with the others.

"We're doing our first round of away missions for our classes at Shade. What school are you guys here with?" Coco questions as they begin heading back to the village.

"Oh, we're not with an academy." Ruby answers fiddling with the cuff of one of her sleeves.

"Not with an academy? Why were you all the way out here fighting a grimm?" Velvet's curiosity getting the better of her.

"The mayor hired us." Nora explains.

"The mayor hired a bunch of kids?" Cardin sounds incredulous.

"I mean, we've been in town a few weeks and are leaving as soon as Jaune's armor and sword are reforged. I guess he figured he may as well take advantage of having us around while he could." Ruby shrugs.

"If you aren't with an academy, why are you all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Coco more demands than ask.

"We're on a mission." Ruby explains, her tone indicates she has no desire to further explain.

"Wait, if you're on away missions, shouldn't you all be working right now?" Nora changes the subject There's a bit of an unspoken understanding that the fewer people aware of the true nature of the mission the better.

"Aw, maaan. We are so far behind schedule!" Cardin whines.

"Well we're not leaving town until morning, why don't you all meet us at the diner in the middle of town for dinner? We can all catch up then!" Jaune offers, looking to Ruby for confirmation, she nods at him with a smile. Cardin notes the interaction, clearly Ruby is in charge of whatever this mission of theirs is. The three groups part ways at the towns mission boards.

Velvet picks up on Coco's sudden quietness. "You alright Coco?"

"I'm ok Vel, I was just thinking about how worn their clothes were, especially Ruby's" Coco states quietly.

"They seemed in good health and spirits, lets focus on the tasks at hand for now." Fox puts his hand on Coco's shoulder in a show of comfort.

The evening comes and the three groups meet outside the diner as planned. The change in Jaune's armor and gear are praised by both groups. They spend the time eating and catching up. The owner of the diner refusing payment for Team Rangers meals and the friendly banter between them really drives home the message that the four have been acting in the capacity of professional hunters. The three groups head back to the lodge, their plan to hang out in Ranger's room for more catching up and some card games. Cardin pulls Jaune aside letting the rest of their companions head inside.

"What's up?" Jaune asks the unusually nervous Cardin.

The Winchester shuffles his feet not really knowing where to start. "I, uh wanted to say sorry, for the way I treated you back at Beacon."

Jaune is caught off guard so much so that he chuckles a little. "Thanks man, I really appreciate it, no hard feelings."

Cardin hadn't expected his apology to go over so easy. "I'm a little curious about something, okay if I ask a question?" He decides to change the topic.

Jaune shrugs. "Sure."

"Why is Ruby traveling with Team Juniper?" He looks apologetic figuring the team name may still be an open wound, but the young knight doesn't seem to flinch. "I figured if anything we'd cross paths with RWBY." Jaune flinches a bit at RWBY, though that's odd Cardin keeps his face neutral.

Jaune runs his hand through his hair. "It's.. it's a bit complicated.. after.. you know. Mr. Schnee came for Weiss, Sun saw Blake run off and Yang…" Jaune pauses looking for the right words. "She's lost her spark."

"I can't imagine, how did you convince Ruby to go with you?" Cardin queries

"Other way around, she contacted us. All things considered I'm really glad she did." Jaune half smiles. "C'mon, if we don't get inside Nora'll get impatient and drag us in by the ears."

Inside Ranger's room Jaune and Cardin find everyone generally talking and laughing. Coco has their map and is questioning them about the marked off locations on it. "What do all these marks mean?" She points to a black X, a red circle, and a few stars drawn on the colorful paper.

"Oh, the X's are abandoned towns, or towns taken over by grimm or bandits." Ruby starts.

"The circles are our goals, knowing WHERE you're going and how far keeps us motivated!" Nora adds.

"The stars are where something especially good happened, stories we'd like to remember and retell some day." Ren adds.

Jaune smiles proudly, his system was simple and effective.

Velvet joins Coco in looking over the map. She finds a circle with an x running through it. "What's this one mean?" She asks pointing at the little symbol. Ruby leans over, her eyes easily finding the spot Velvet is pointing to. The color drains from her face and her eyes immediately seek Jaune.

He knows, even on the other side of the room, he knows the location. Ren and Nora know just from Ruby's expression, everyone in the room picking up on the sudden change in atmosphere. Jaune clears his throat to get everyone's attention. "Travelling can be really rough, there are some things we'd rather not tall about."

Coco is very curious, but she respects their privacy, she shrugs. "How about we get to kicking these guys butts in cards?" Velvet puts the map aside and produces a deck of cards from seemingly nowhere. The three teams play cards and swap stories for a few hours before heading to bed. Cardinal and Coffey see Team Ranger off the next morning. They are joined by a few townspeople and the mayor.

"Shame to see them go." The towns blacksmith sighs.

"They were really good to this little village indeed." The mayor smiles.

"You lot come from Beacon originally from what I hear." The blacksmith asks turning to the two remaining groups.

"Yea, we are.. were." Cardin answers.

"Well, if you're anything like your friends that just left us, this town will be singing your praises to your teachers on pickup day." The blacksmith claps Cardin on the shoulder and walks off. The two groups filled with determination as their former classmates disappear over the horizon.

"Alright guys and gals, lets get out there and make Beacon proud!" Coco half cheers half demands, her seven companions nod in agreement. "For Beacon" Cardin adds, a drive in him waking, wanting to match Jaune's groups apparently amazing reputation as hunters.

A/N: The map scene is a lil reference to it gets easier. The rest, I thought would just be fun and nice to see CFVY and CRDL (?) for a bit.


	4. Chapter 4: After

A/N: Creative batteries are low, but this little idea is nagging me. 61 tornadoes in the state in May. 8 of those in my county, 2 within ½ mile of me. 3 more in the city but like 20 minutes away. Two earthquakes, flooding, hail, ect. The local weathermen are basically super stars now. I'm so glad May is iver.

They had done it, somehow through skill, planning or sheer dumb luck they had saved the world. They still aren't sure, two weeks later how or why the entire world knew. It was probably something to do with the literal gods of dark and light making an appearance, magic made about as much sense as anything else at this point. Jaune using his semblance to boost the power of Ruby's silver eyes, purifying Salem and wiping out every grimm in the grimmlands seemed to be all anyone talked about. The news outlets largely downplayed or outright ignored the rest of their teams efforts in the battle. It was a sore spot for the two team leaders, the rest of their team didn't seem to mind.

Their hopes of a peaceful ever after had been dashed the second they set foot out of the grimmlands it seemed. The press swarming the young heroes firing off question after question, taking picture after picture and begging for "exclusives". If the press was out of control, the general public was ten times worse. The two of them had been proposed to several dozen times, and that was just today! Ozpin convinced them to indulge the press. "It's a good way to keep spreading the positive energy and keep the grimm at bay." He had said, so, begrudgingly they allowed a press conference. That was an event to say the least. Yang thrived on the attention as did Nora. The two thankfully fielding many of the questions. Now though, at the after party there was really no reprieve from the constant onslaught, each reporter cornering the members of thee group for one on one questioning disguised poorly as small talk.

There was no hiding behind the punch bowl for Ruby or Jaune. They may have grown into some great huntsmen and huntresses, but the two were as socially awkward as ever. Ren had ninja'd himself into a dark corner where he was largely undisturbed. Jaune had tried to join him but his golden hair made him easy to spot. Yang was talking with reporter after reporter. Blake staying loyally and quietly by her side, she didn't seem too put off by the reporters. Weiss it seemed was in her element, graciously and professionally doing her interviews. The press conference did seem to straighten out the misconception that Ruby and Jaune were the sole heroes, so now the press were racing to fill in the gaps. Oscar, or rather Ozpin handling the whole situation with practiced ease. Nora was bouncing reporter to reporter, eager to sing the praises of her friends.

It was during an interview with none other than Lisa Lavender that Nora noticed the unease of her fearless leaders. Ruby was doing her best to keep up the façade of a professional huntress. The tiny reaper stuttering her way through questions that had somehow turned to romance. Jaune, well he was busy trying to subvert the same line of questioning. Nora happened to know something no one else in their group knew, she hadn't even shared the secret with Ren. She excuses herself from her interview and heads to the dark corner she knows her man is at. Settling at their table she grins at the dark haired man. He knows the look well and sighs. "What are we doing?" He asks her, knowing the sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

"Rescue mission." She states proudly. His raised eyebrow prompting her to point to Jaune and Ruby. He smiles and nods, honestly he was wondering when the two would cave and bail, but they had been steadfast in their convictions about following Ozpins advice so far this evening. As luck would have it the event hall had great black curtains lining the walls allowing their servers to invisibly keep the snack and beverage trays stocked. Ren slips away and behind the curtains returning several long minutes later to report on his recon. There was an unalarmed door to a stairwell on the other side of the room. If they played their cards right.. He trailed off, Nora grinning already understanding. "I'll get Ruby, you get Jaune." Nora decides, Ren nods as the two slip behind the curtains and make their way to their marks. The two unaware socially awkward team leaders making their jobs easy with their penchant for sticking to the edges of the room. With Ren in place and Nora in hers they nod to each other, having decided for no real reason that their "attacks" should be in unison.

Ren holds up three fingers lowering them one by one in a silent countdown. The two lunged out as his final finger dropped grabbing their charges and yanking them behind the curtains. Their hands over their marks mouths. Jaune and Ruby's surprised squeaks giving way to confused whispering. Nora scolded the two saying to. "quiet down and be thankful for their extraction from enemy waters" as the oblivious duo were dragged towards the stairwell door. Ren opened the door and Nora shoved the two in. "Thank me later." She cheers quietly giving Jaune a look and a nod. "K, gotta go, we'll keep the reporters busy!" Nora winks, shutting the door and smiling. "Hey, Nora?" Ren begins. "Nevermind" He decides, maybe it's best if he kept his knowledge secret a bit longer. He was a patient man after all.

The two rescuees in the stairwell were still in shock. "What just happened?" Jaune wonders out loud, running his hand through his hair. He was relieved to be out of the media spotlight for a bit though.

"That's what I was going to ask." Ruby sighs leaning back on the wall. "We'll have to thank them later" She smiles, grateful to be away from so many strangers. "You should have seen the look on your face!" She giggles.

"My face? You looked like you'd seen a ghost!" Jaune laughs.

"Your eyes were the size of saucers!" She laughs harder.

"You were practically a comic character with yours!" He laughs, more. The two devolve into a giggle fit. Jaune recovers first. The sight of Ruby laughing, care free for the first time in so very long brings a sense of ease to his very soul. Suddenly he remembers a conversation he had with Nora, months ago.

It had been a moonless warm late spring night. He was on watch duty and feeling far too restless. The decision had been made as a team hours ago. They were going to advance into the grimmlands in just a few short months. They all knew they may well be signing their own death warrants, they would be lucky if anyone made it out alive. Here in the quiet of the night he began to understand how Pyrrha must have felt all those years ago. The desperate need to make sure to leave with no regrets. Gazing across the campfire he can just make out the silhouette of a peacefully sleeping Ruby. When had it happened, he wonders. When had the tiny beacon of positivity stolen his heart? A tap on his shoulder brings him out of his stupor.

"Remnant to Jaune" Nora whispers, completely amused by her dear friends unusual state. The big goofy grin on his face giving away his thoughts.

"Oh, um, hey, Nora, sorry, I kinda zoned out there for a minute." He rubs his neck, a bit embarrassed.

"Ya know, I kinda figured, but I didn't realize how bad you've got it." She smiles, excitement and mischief written across her face.

"Got what?" He asks, genuinely confused.

Nora rolls her eyes. "You're in love, or at the very least you like a certain someone." She states natter of factly. "You were staring across the fire for at least five minutes." She points out.

He decides to not deny. It. "Yea, but it's not the right time for that kind of thing." He sighs.

She understands completely, she waited too. "When?"

Her simple question sends his mind racing before he comes up with an answer. "After." He decides out loud. "After we beat Salem."

Nora thinks on his answer for a bit. " What if, what if one of you doesn't.." She trails off, voice quivering at the mere thought of losing anyone.

"Then I take my feelings to the grave." While it's whispered its said with such conviction that it causes Nora to gasp. "I'd die defending any of you." He clarifies. "I've gotten a lot stronger, Salem, she's on another level."

"You swear you wont try and sacrifice yourself for any of us?" Nora prods, worried he's slipping back into his old mindset.

"I make no promises, but I don't plan on dying either, after all, I've got a promise to keep." Jaune smiles.

"A promise? To who?" Now Nora is genuinely curious.

"To myself. Once we make it back in one peace, I'll tell her."

"You swear?" Nora pleads.

"On my word as an Arc, but only if you keep this secret, even from Ren." He bargains

"No fair!" Nora whines.

"Is it a deal?" Jaune holds out his hand,

"It's a deal." Nora sighs, she grabs his hand and shakes it smiling nonetheless.

With that conversation on his mind and the solitude the stairwell provides he leans down and kisses her, the laughter stops and her eyes go wide. She doesn't move for a long few seconds, just long enough that Jaune begins to wonder if he threw caution to the wind a bit too soon.

Her mind flashes to a conversation she and Ren had, months ago. The little village they happened to cross was having a Valentine's event. The masses of couples walking hand in hand, and the excitement on Blake and Yang's faces along with Nora practically vibrating in place next to Ren caused her to stop and think about her future. The fact that Ruby had completely ignored the weapons store was enough to draw Jaune's attention. The group had splintered off in several smaller groups exploring. Qrow headed to the bar for a drink, after promising not to get drunk. Maria was content to wander the streets. Jaune, Ruby, Weiss and Oscar left to their own devices.

"Ruby, do you want to check out the weapons store?" Jaune questions, thinking maybe she had just overlooked it.

"No, maybe later." She answers not looking back, still lost in thought, a bit of a silly smile on her face.

The little group stops at a small snack cart. Ruby really isn't hungry, and as her three friends order she wonders off watching the crowds of couples.

"Okay Ruby, we've…Ruby?" Weiss looks around, no hint of her partner anywhere. "Where did that dolt go?" She wonders in amusement.

It doesn't take too long to find her. She's just down the street, watching a cotton candy vendor turn the fluffy concoction into flowers.

"There you are! We were worried!" Jaune sighs, earning a raised eyebrow from Weiss and Oscar.

"Oh, hey guys, I got a bit distracted, watching this is so cool!" Ruby grins, Weiss notes with a smirk as both Ruby and Jaune blush and bluster when the vender confuses them for a couple. The lodges and inns are predictably booked solid and the group decide to camp on the outskirts of town. Ruby had gotten quieter as the sun set and the streetlights cast a warm romantic glow on the town. She had a great view of the goings on from their little hill overlooking the little settlement. She was sitting by herself just taking the sights in and thinking. Ren of all people eventually joins her, he doesn't show it but he's a little bit concerned.

"Hey Ren, the town is really pretty at night isn't it?" She asks quietly, her voice sounding as distant as he figured her mind was.

"It is. Ruby, is everything okay? You don't quite seem like yourself tonight." He asks quietly and gently. Truthfully he had to convince Yang, Weiss, Nora and Jaune to let him be the one to talk to her. He had a feeling he knew what the cause of their leaders quiet state was about. She was more likely to open up to him.

"Yes, no, I dunno." She sighs. Ren stays quiet, knowing her well enough to know she would start talking when she was ready. "It wouldn't be fair, we're going to take the fight to Salem. If the worst happens and I don't make it out alive, it wouldn't be fair." She sighs, turning her head to look at him."

He doesn't need her to clarify, its pretty obvious to him with the way she paid so much attention to the couples over the course of the day. "Is it fair to yourself to deny it though?"

"I guess not, but, he's lost someone already, we saw what it did to him and they weren't even a couple." She searches the crowds again. "If we started being a couple and the worst happened, I'm not sure if he could take it."

Ren smirks, it's a very unRenlike expression and causes Ruby to raise her eyebrow. "What?" She asks, feeling suddenly a bit shy.

"You're being quite candid about your feelings for Jaune. I wasn't expecting you to be quite so open." He explains.

Ruby eeps and covers her mouth. "Oh my gosh! Ren, you can't tell anyone!" She whisper shouts.

"You have my word." He smiles. "You do have to promise me something in return though." His face and voice serious.

"Anything!" She pleads with him.

"Promise to make it out of the grimmlands alive." He levels her with a look.

"I can't promise that. I knew from the second I decided to become a huntress what was at stake. Our tomorrows aren't guaranteed, but, I can promise I will do my best to not, you know."

Ren is thoughtful for a few minutes. "That works for me, will you tell him how you feel after?"

"Yea, I will." Ruby sticks her hand out for a handshake, Ren grabs her hand and they shake on it.

Ruby remembers that conversation shortly after the shock of Jaune kissing her. She relaxes and surprises him, wrapping her arms around him and returning the kiss. When they part the both of them are blushing and looking at the floor. "Well, that's a thing that happened." Jaune quips uncertainly. It makes Ruby forget her nerves a bit and she laughs.

"So, um, what now?" She shuffles her feet a bit, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

"How about we go on a date?" He offers.

"Okay, when?" She looks up to him curiously.

He shrugs. "No time like the present." He rocks on his heels and motions to the door behind him lading outside. Ruby nods a bright smile spreading on her face. Jaune opens the door, holding it for Ruby. "Ladies first." He croons being overly dramatic and bowing as Ruby walks by. The two walk side by side making small talk. Their knuckles brushing with the swinging of their arms. Ruby tentatively, and shyly reaches for his hand. He's a bit shocked and his step stutters a bit before he twines their fingers together, both blushing all the while. It feels natural, and right, but still so awkward at the same time. They end up at a quiet and cozy diner, their nerves easing up as they ate and talked.

Back at the press party the two leaders absence has been noticed, but there are plenty of interviews to be had with the remaining team that the press isn't too fussed. Lisa has made her way to Yang, when the reporter smiles at the dinging of her scroll. "Miss Xaio-long, how long have your sister and Mr. Arc been an item?" She readies her recorder, hoping for a scoop.

"An item?" Yang asks very confused. "They aren't." She shrugs.

Lisa holds out her scroll for Yang to see, several pictures of the new couple on the street holding hands flicker by. Yang smirks. "Hey, Blake?" she calls across the hall. Blake, not being one for shouting her reply walks quickly over to her partner.

"Everything okay?" Blake asks, worry written all over her face.

"You owe me $20. Seems like Vomit Boy finally worked up the nerve to ask. Rubes out." Yang smirks, quite happy in winning their bet.

Blake flattens her ears. "I really thought Ruby would get sick of waiting and make the first move. We won't know until we talk to them, so you may owe me $20!" Blake smiles mischievously.

"Vomit Boy?" Lisa asks.

"Long story" Yang answers casually. The two team leaders laughing in the diner oblivious to the events at the press hall.

A/N: So, this went a full 2k words longer than I imagined. I think I captured the awkwardness of first kiss, date, ect pretty well.


	5. Chapter 5: Not A Date

A/N: I have bits and pieces of five, maybe six stories/chapters/one shots in progress. This is just a silly lil offshoot that stuck in my head.

Yang and Blake had no idea they were walking into world war three upon returning from their walk. Nora looked rather amused, Ren, Weiss and Oscar all looked appropriately shocked and/or terrified. Thee others weren't really important, no, the main players in tonight's drama were one Ruby Rose and One Jaune Arc. The two were staring daggers at each other, the cause wasn't immediately clear as the entire house was deathly silent. Yang flicked her eyes around the room, no one daring to speak, she sighs. "Vomit boy take the last strawberry?" She calls out nervously, hating the tense silence. The duo in question didn't even acknowledge that they heard her lame attempt to diffuse the situation. "Ooohhkay" Yang sighs, Blake squeezing her hand in silent comfort.

Ruby's scroll beeps drawing everyone's attention, Blake notes Jaune's face has gone red with anger. There are several tense seconds when nothing at all happens before the scroll beeps demanding attention again, yet Ruby has yet to even acknowledge the device yet.

"Your boyfriend is texting about your date, aren't you gonna answer?" Jaune's voice is low and while there is definitely an undertone of anger its not harsh. Yang's eyebrows shoot up in shock, Blake's jaw hits the floor.

Ruby growls, apparently frustrated. "I'm just meeting Cardin for dinner and to catch up, it's not a date." Ruby stands defiant.

"That sounds like the very definition of a date!" Jaune snaps. "You know he blackmailed me back at Beacon, but sure, go have a date."

"He invited you to come too, Jaune." Ruby points out, sighing in exasperation.

"Suuure, I'll come and be the third wheel on your date, sounds lovely." Jaune's voice drips with sarcasm.

"It is not a date." Ruby stomps her foot a bit childishly. "I think he's changed, maybe he wants to apologize and make a fresh start?" Ruby tries to appeal to his logical side.

"Whatever." Jaune turns away from her. "Marry the jerk for all I care." He mutters before stalking off to the kitchen.

Ruby stares in shock for a second, hand half heartedly reaching after the blonde boy. Her scroll beeps again, this time she retrieves the little device and frowns. "I was really hoping he'd come. Maybe I should cancel tonight." Her hand lingers over the scroll for several seconds before she finally types out a "maybe tomorrow" before sighing. "I'll be upstairs." She sighs "Sorry about the fight." She mutters leaving the room. Once Ruby us out of earshot Nora breaks into full blown laughter.

"What's so funny?" Weiss demands.

"Ruby is Jaune and Jaune is Pyrrha!" Nora cackles enjoying the situation far more than she should.

"Huh?" Yang is confused.

"Nora." Ren scolds at first. "That's actually a pretty accurate description." He concludes.

A/N: this may have a pert 2 heh.


	6. Too Far Gone

A/N: Noooo! I had this oneshot finished! It was perfect! I accidentally deleted instead of uploaded! Well, I'm rewriting this on my phone, my tablet is broken and I'm waiting on the replacement. Such is life, I guess. Excuse any mistakes or weird formatting problems this laptop is mega laggy. I saw a similar fic and liked the concept so put my spin on it.

Jaune panted heavily, his back to a tree, he was working up the nerve to peek out at the destruction of several dozen trees his pursuer had downed in an effort to bring him into the open. It had been ten years since he had betrayed them, straying to the dark side and joining Salem's minions. This was only the third time he had crossed paths with Ruby. He had his reasons for leaving the light, reasons he knew they would never understand, but reasons none the less. She was shouting at him again, words of hope and promise, she still wanted him to rejoin the light, she never had given up on him, something he learned through brief encounters with his exteammates across the years. His goal, his reason for joining Salem was moving father and father out of his reach as the days, weeks, months, and years trudged by. In all honesty his conviction was near the breaking point, as such he hadn't spoken a word the entire encounter, a vat difference from their first meeting years back.

He was on one of his first solo missions for the queen, an odd job at an out of the way little village. He had been there for a few days, acutely aware of the unwanted presence of a lone huntress, he hadn't known that huntress was Ruby until he called down the first swarm of grimm. The dazzling silver flash that decimated the first wave was a dead giveaway. Though he wouldn't say he was even remotely sorry that the first wave was eliminated, he always secretly hoped every mission failed, well at least he hoped no one was hurt or killed because of his missions. He had joined the dark, sold his soul to the devil herself, but he still had a heart. When the two inevitably crossed paths in the chaos he had been met with her righteous indignation and fury, she came at him with all she was worth demanding to know why, angrily lecturing him about the hurt he caused his friends, and soon enough the façade of anger fell and she was quietly crying. Begging him to come back, there was still time, everyone would forgive him, words full of truth and heart. This was the first time his conviction cracked and wavered, it took everything in him not to crack. He had only one choice to get back on mission, he called down another wave of grimm. She agonized for several long seconds before flitting off in a burst of petals to do her job as a huntress and he escaped like a thief in the night back to his mistress Salem. Her words of hope haunted him for months.

A few years later he was on a simple recon mission in Minagerie, he had been there for a few weeks when he ran into a small child sobbing his heart out. He still had a heart, he was still human after all, so he comforted the little one, took his hand and walked through the town looking for the kids parents. His head was turned, scanning a group of people behind him when the child tugged his hand free and took off, shouting "mama". Jaune smiled, at least he did one good dead, he could hear the little one telling their mom about "the nice man". He turned to wave goodbye when his jaw dropped, Blake flattened her ears and pulled the child into a protective embrace. Yang... that was the first time he had ever had the displeasure of being the focus of the fiery brawler's fury. She shouted him down for betraying the, asked him if he knew how badly his leaving hurt everyone, demanded to know if he was proud of himself or of the damage he had done in the name of Salem. There may have been more but he had to focus on escaping, thankfully the town was huge and the chaos of a brawl in the streets brought enough onlookers a well-placed punch from Yang sent him into a large crowd where he stayed low and managed to slink into the shadows. His mission was only half done, but he had no choice but to do a tactical retreat. He learned the meaning of disappointing Salem, he would never forget the punishment for disappointment.

A few years later his path finally crossed that of Ren, Nora and Oscar. Secretly he was glad to see Ren and Nora as strong together as ever, and Oscar had grown into a fine young man, but this encounter was one of the most draining. Ren had fought him bitterly, though Nora's heart was only half in it. Weren't they family? Didn't he know how hurt they would be by his betrayal? Didn't he care? Weren't they brothers? He was nearly at his breaking point, nearly ready to give in and tell them everything, this had been the meeting he had most dreaded, other than crossing paths with Ruby again, Ren and Nora WERE family, they could sense the cracks in his conviction and the softening of his heart. Ozpin ruined it all starting in on a sanctimonious lecture of right and wrong and forgiveness, his words sounded hollow, it was till so very easy to tell when Ozpin and Oscar were in control. The subtle differences in their words, tone, ect, he very much sounded like a father scolding a petulant child. He would have to thank Ozpin for reminding him why he turned his back on all of this all those years ago. That wasn't true, honestly Oz had nothing to do with his decision. Nora very nearly killed him when he knocked Ren unconscious with a sucker punch to get away. Still it was kind of nice to know one of the core truths of their group remained "If you mess with the Ren, you get the Nora" H iui s jaw took three days to heal, even with his abundance of aura.

He had wizened up and began using a disguise when in public, ironically a blue hooded cloak was his go to. It came in handy, especially on his spying missions in Atlas, Salem was after any news on new mine locations the SDC was scouting. Weiss tended to frequent the same few restaurants for meetings, she had spent years working to reorganize the SDC with her mom and siblings. She almost always got a phone call from one of his exfriends, he was always glad to hear they were all doing well, though he was always as worried as Weiss was to learn Ruby was still working alone. He knew why, Salem had sent people after her numerous times over the years, though in the last three years there hadn't been a single attempt to increase the chances of the next attack being successful. The silver eyes were a thorn in her side, and with good reason. He was hidden in the corner of a little cafe watching and listening to Weiss talk over the possibility of a remote island having dust resources when she suddenly cut the conversation short. Her gasp and subsequent panic making it obvious Ruby had been attacked. Jaune cursed under his breath, they were setting plans in motion without him, thankfully he managed to overhear Weiss instruct that Ruby be brought to the Atlas hospital.

He had become quite good at sneaking around truth be told, so it wasn't a surprise when he made it to Ruby's room undeterred in the middle of the night. His breath hitched at the crisscross of stitches across her face. He sighed in relief when he noticed none of the marks were too near her eyes. Thank the gods Salem still had some inept lackeys. Still, scars just wouldn't do anything for her look. He took her hand and allowed his semblance to flow through her, frowning at how depleted her aura truly was. The new kid was terrifying if he were being honest. He scolded her sleeping form, complaining that she wasn't being a hero working alone as she had been. He knew she had resorted to that behavior to spare any of her companions the guilt if the worst happened while she was with a group. She was being selfish, if she was seriously injured or killed while alone the rest of them would just blame themselves. It was a classic case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't." he knew that scenario all too well. He had gotten so lost in his scolding and rambling he hadn't heard the door open. He managed to jump out the window and glide to safety, Weiss shouting after him to stay away. The news the net morning was singing the hospital's praises, claiming their state of the art technology completely cured aura depletion in only a few hours. He smirked at Mercury's accusations when he returned to the lair, it was the hospital, not him, it was even on the news after all.

That had been a few years ago, he didn't regret healing her those years ago, but, man had she gotten stronger. She was still pleading for him to come out and just talk to her! Talking was off limits, his fragile conviction couldn't handle her words of redemption and forgiveness. He would remain silent, he closed his eyes and made a decision. He would rejoin the battle, if he won he would remain on his dark path, if she won, he would take her offer and work on repenting for his sins. It was a gamble, his aura was very low, hers had broken, he took a breath and shouted as he ran out sword and shield drawn. An hour later he fell to his knees sobbing as his last hope lay unconscious, defeated. Days after later he returned to Salem, gave his report and headed straight for Merlot's lab. A tube of bubbling purple met him as always, inside floated a being more grimm than human, but if he were to believe the mad doctor, bits of Pyrrhas soul and aura had been maturing inside if all these years. He didn't care about the specifics of how or why, she was his final hope now and he had to believe one day she'd open her eyes. He slid down the wall, staring past the tube at nothing in particular. "Pyr, I'm home" he sighed, finally deciding he was too far gone to call anywhere home but here.

A/N: Not as happy with attempt 2, will revisit eventually.


End file.
